Farooqui, former PM's grandson line up to join AAP

A highly-paid Apple executive, an ageing pop star and a politician looking for rehabilitation couldn’t possibly have anything in common, yet they have all knocked on the door of the nascent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to start a new chapter in their lives.

After former PM late Lal Bahadur Shastri’s grandson Adarsh quit his Rs. 1 crore a year Apple job to join AAP and pop star Remo Fernandes decided to join too, former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Kamal Farooqui on Sunday hinted he was also ready to jump on the AAP bandwagon and would announce his decision on Monday.

“Right now, everybody is interested in joining Kejriwal. I met him and discussed the AAP manifesto,” Farooqui said. But while Adarsh and Fernandes appear content to become simple members of the new party, Farooqui indicated he would be ready for a bigger role if the AAP so desired.

Farooqui was sacked by the Samajwadi Party as its national secretary in September for his controversial comment that Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal was arrested because of being a Muslim.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who accompanied Farooqui for the meeting, said the party had definite criteria for those willing to join and that it would be strictly followed. However, he added that Farooqui was a leader of high calibre and his presence in the AAP would definitely help the party.